The Internet has developed as an important vehicle for information exchange, as well as a forum for conducting, or at least facilitating, commerce. Systems using the Internet as a commercial forum fall broadly into two categories: seller-driven or customer-driven. The difference between customer and seller driven systems lies in which party takes the initiative to find the other. In a seller-driven system, the seller finds the customer; in a customer-driven system the customer finds the seller.
Most Internet commerce systems in use today are seller-driven and are either passive sites or active sites. A typical seller's Internet site is a passive advertising site that provides information about the product and directs potential customers to places they can obtain the product. Automobile manufacturers are a typical example: their sites provide information about the manufacturer's line of cars, available options, and locations of authorized dealers.
A smaller number of sellers have active selling sites that not only provide product information but allow potential customers to conduct a transaction over the Internet and purchase the product. The seller prices and packages the product and then holds it out for sale to potential customers via the Internet. The seller specifies, through their web site, the terms of the sale, and potential customers must either accept the seller's terms or find another seller whose terms are acceptable. Products sold on these sites are typically lower-priced standardized goods such as books, compact disks, and videos.
In a customer-driven system, the customer specifies the product they want and the terms under which they will buy it, and then sends this specification to sellers. Some attempts have been made to implement customer-driven systems on the Internet. Examples are news groups and bulletin boards where any potential customer can post “wanted” ads at little or no cost. Customer driven systems has certain benefits that other systems do not. Where a large number of potential sellers exist, but those sellers do not have the resources to advertise globally, it makes sense for customers, if they can, to take the initiative in communicating their needs to a seller. The Internet is ideal in this situation because Internet postings are global, and the customer theoretically can communicate his offer to a large number of potential sellers. Moreover, customers can usually exercise more control over the terms and conditions of their purchases.
Despite their advantages, existing customer-driven systems have some drawbacks. Sellers are deterred from using customer-driven systems because sellers do not want to be inundated with numerous requests from potential customers, many of whom may be marginal or unqualified. Moreover, if each customer has a different set of purchasing specifications and communicates his or her needs to sellers using a non-standard format with different conditions, terms, and language styles, the specification may require too much time for the seller to interpret. Furthermore, sellers are deterred from using customer-driven systems because there is no guarantee of the authenticity of the request, and the financial ability of the customer to enter into the transaction is uncertain. In addition, such “customers” may actual be rival sellers looking for competitor pricing information.
Newsgroups scattered across the Internet make it difficult, if not impossible, for sellers to find customer requests. In practice, these customer-driven systems are ineffective because potential sellers do not frequent all the various newsgroups or bulletin boards or respond to posting in those places. Customers are deterred from using customer-driven systems for many of the same reasons sellers are deterred. For example, a potential seller does not want to be inundated with offers from many marginal or unqualified customers.
The problems inherent in existing customer-driven systems are compounded where the product being sold is available in multiple configurations, for example motor vehicles such as an automobile or a truck. These products cause problems because for any given product there are thousands of possible option configurations, and not all combinations of options are feasible. For example, automobile manufacturers usually do not make vehicles having every possible combination of options, but rather make the most popular ones. Thus, for example, if a potential customer wants a purple Ford truck with a yellow interior and a V-12 engine, that engine and combination of colors may not be available from the manufacturer (Ford). The customer, however, has no way of knowing this before sending the request to potential sellers.
Attempts have been made to implement customer-driven systems that address some of the above problems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,207 to Walker et. al. (“Walker”) is illustrative. Walker does not, however, solve all the foregoing problems. Among other things, Walker does not direct the customer's request to a target set of sellers who are likely, if not certain, to have the desired product. Instead, Walker merely places the customer's request where interested sellers can access it. Walker, although it provides for guaranteeing payment by the customer, does not guarantee that the sellers will be credible and able to deliver. Walker does not provide means for checking whether a complex product the customer wants is feasible, that is, whether it exists or can be manufactured. Finally, Walker provides a system where the customer must send a binding purchase offer that can be accepted by any seller, thereby binding the customer to a contract. This opens up the possibility that an unscrupulous seller could accept the offer. There is thus a need in the art for an apparatus and method that solves the above problems.